Splitting the normal brain with reaction time

Abstract

Two simple choice-reaction-time experiments were performed using tachistoscopic flashes containing a dot to the right or left of fixation or a blank field as stimuli. One experiment required a verbal response and the other a manual response to the presence or absence of a dot. Median verbal reaction times to a right dot averaged 386 msec, while those to a left dot or to a blank field averaged 419 and 420 msec, respectively. Median manual reaction times to a blank field averaged 382 msec, while those to a right or to a left dot averaged 336 and 341 msec. respectively. The 30–40 msec differences are taken to be a reflection of callosal transmission time, that is, the delay required for the information received in one hemisphere to be acted upon by the other hemisphere. © 1969, Psychonomic Journals, Inc.. All rights reserved.